Convertible baby carriage and stroller



April 29, 1952 w RAUCHER Re. 23,488

CONVERTIBLE BABY CARRIAGE AND S'IROLLER Original Filed Jan. 25, 1949 nature, an improved arrangement of parts wherein .ihefpivoted-bach structure has associated therewith-.in anintegral manner upstanding or sub- Reissued Apr. 29, 1952 CONVERTIBLE BABY CARRIAGE AND STROLLER Walter L. Rancher, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Helen Rancher, Chicago, Ill.

Original No. 2,494,489, dated January 10, 1950,

Serial No. 72,701, January 25, 1949. Application for reissue September 22, 1950, Serial No.

12 Claims. (01. 296-26) Matter enclosed in heavy brackets appears in the original patent but printed in italics indicates the additions made by reissue.

reissue specification; matter The current invention pertains to certain novel structural improvements and functional or operative betterments in juvenile or infant conveyances, such as baby carriages or strollers, or rather in both of such devices, in that it represents a combination of the two appliances, whereby the new vehicle can be modified or changed by reason of the innovatory characteristics supplied by the invention thus rendering the structure convertible from the baby carriage to the stroller, or .vice versa, so that the apparatus may be readily and easily changed or modified to conform to the physical growth and accompanying other characteristics of the child, thus rendering the purchase of one of such conmeeting ones needs instead of requiring investvertible devices of this type satisfactory and mom; in two different vehicles thus avoiding considerable expense. :p

Obviously, the conveyance should be capable of enlargement as the child to be accommodated therein naturally increases in size and proper care of the temperature and volume of the air having access to the occupant of the vehicle is necessary for the comfort, safety and health of the child, and all of these features are properly cared for by the employment of the instant invention;

The invention further comprises and relates to the particular means employed to effect the foregoing conversions, and the structural arrangement of parts provided.

More particularly, one of the objects of the invention is to. provide in a convertible structure of the foregoing type an arrangement whereby.

a. pivoted back structure, for the carriage body, is arranged to occupy either of two positions, an upwardly extending position when the structure is used as a stroller, or a relatively flat position when the structure is used as a baby carriage,

, and wherein-such pivoted back structure is associated with the main bottom of the carriage .body in a manner so as to provide-a windproof .,;st1;ucture and insure safety between the back and main body parts. wai -Another object of the invention is to provide acombined baby carriage and stroller struc forms no part of this stant-ially vertical side and rear walls, whereby to provide a windproof structure, and an improved safety arrangement, when the pivoted back assembly is used in its baby carriage position; and.

wherein such upstanding walls provide operative connection or association with the hood of the carriage at a point well above the carriage bottom so that the hood, or any parts thereof, need not be relied upon to insure a complete windproof and safe rear compartment structure when the device is in baby carriage position;

The new device can be used under certain circumstances also to accommodate packages or other bodies such as groceries, etc., in addition to the child.

In order that those skilled in this art may have full knowledge of the mechanical properties of the new device and the accompanying benefits incorporating the present invention may be readily understood, a current preferred embodiment of the invention in satisfactory, convenient, and desirable physical form has been illustrated in the accompanying drawing described in the following specification and in which drawing like parts or elements have been supplied with the same reference numerals throughout the several figures of the drawing.

In suchdrawing:

Figure 1 is a side view of the new appliance in one only of its several adjustments in full lines;

Figure 2 shows a fragmentary perspective view of the novel rear portion of the main body of the vehicle;

Figure 3 presents a perspective view of the back part of the carriage with its elements in a somewhat different partially folded relation;

Figure 4 displays a view similar to that of Figure 3 with the elements thereof in still a different fully folded or converted condition;

Figure 5 portrays a perspective view of the foldable or hinged back-wall of the carriage in an unsecured or unlocked condition; and

Figure 6 depicts a vertical section on line 65 of Figure 2, as viewed in the direction indicated by the arrows.

Referring first to Figure 1, it will be noted that H) is the ordinary or well-known wheelequipped chassis of the baby carriage, H constituting that part of the vehicle by which it is manually pushed and guided, [2 comprising the main body of the carriage mounted on such chassis I 0, l3 being its foldable or adjustable foot well hinged in any approved manner at [4 on the body of the vehicle for use in lowered relation as presented in Figure l, or in raised position covering the front of the body I2, and I5 being its collapsible longitudinally adjustable hood, all of which, so far as displayed in such figure, being of well-known, ordinary or any suitable usual construction. I 7

Such body l2 comprises a suitable, fiat, rectangular base or bottom 9 (Figs. 2, 3, 5 and 6) and its two side-walls l6, 16 (see also Figs. 2, '3, 4, :5

and 6) are equipped with a rectangularbackwall or closure l'l hinged at 1-8 on said base .9 (Figs. 2, 5 and 6) so that it be rocked vertically to different positions to con-,Ycrt the infant carriage from a baby. carriage into a stroller in which the occupant is of sufficient age and, capacity to sit upright or recline more or less while in the vehicle.

This base 9 of such .mainbody maybe formed of an underlayer of suitable material, such as real or artificial leather 9], equipped with a superposed sheet 92 of stiff material, the. two layers being secured together in any approved manner (Fig. 6) I Such back H may beheld upright or in one or more rearwardly sloping relations by the application of aperturesin its two tabs l9, 19 (Figs. 2 and 5.) over fixed studs 2l., 2 I on rigid members 22, 22. (Figs. 1, 2, 4, and 6) of the vehicle. 'In Figure v2 the straps tabs l9, 19 are shown broken away so as to'better portray other portions of the structure.

An infant will ordinarily begin to sit up in the cariage at from eight to twelve months of age and thereafter, as a rule, does not sleep in the carriage.

Then, the compartment about to be described, behind the'child, becomes a handy. carry-all for packagesgroceries, etc. (Figs, 2 andv 6).

When the child becomes older, the mother ordinarily does not usually wish to push a fullsize baby carriage and she then collapses the convertible back, as. shown in 4, to obtain a regular stroller .as indicated in full lines in Figure 1.

stantially rigid, thin, rectangular end-wall 24,

preferably, integral with the rear ends of side walls 23, 23 and a suitably supported foldable bottom-wall 25, all of such four walls being substantially rectangular or square.

Such bottomwall 25 may. consist of a lower layer 21 of suitable material, such as leather or fabric, and desirably forming an integral extension of the material '9I, forming part of base 9 of the main body of the carriage, this same material also forming an integral part of the back-wall 24 which wall isdeSirably, provided with a stiffening. stratum; 2D fastened thereto, the bottom wall or extension 25 having a stiffeninglayer I25 'fastenedtothe stratum 2].

This rearward extension 'havingthe three upstanding walls 23, 23, "24 is supported in the relation shown in Figure 6 by a metallic U- shaped yoke 23 on whose intermediate straight section 29 the bottom-wall 25 rests adjacent to the metallic bar 31 fastened to the bottom of wall 2:; (Figs. 4 and 6), and is of a length wider than the distance between the two sides of such yoke, the yoke 23 having its upper ends curved at I28 and rockingly mounted in any approved manner at the two points I29 (Figs. 2 and 6) so that it may swing vertically.

When the vehicle is to accommodate a very young infant on a pad or cushion and the foot well is in the upper dotted position shown in Figure 1 forming a forward extension of the main body of the carriage, the back I! maybe retained in upright position and under these conditions the space to the rear of such wall I! may or may not be employed for the accommodation of packages or other articles, the parts ofsuch extension having been unfolded and occupying the relations shown in Figures 2 and 6;, -thetop of such compartment being covered, protected, and concealed by the hood 15 which may be partially folded temporarily to permit access to such space.

On the other hand, if such extension spa e is needed for occupation by such child the wall 11 may be released and folded down on top of its bottom-wall. 25 and be occupied .in part by the child, supplemented, if desired, by one or more packages or articles.

To'convertthe vehicle into a stroller, .in which case the child sits up in the carriage instead of lying down therein, the back-wall I1 is held erect and may be turned down on the bottom 25 of the extension which has previously been lowered into place and supported by its, yoke 28,. as presented in Figures 2 and 6.

Thereafter, the back-wall 24 is turned downon 7 top of wall H, the two flexible side-walls. '23 being folded into triangular halves (Figure 33 and then the bottom-wall 25 is folded upv erect, such previously folded sections of the side-walls pass:- ing forwardly into the main body of the carriage, whereupon the yoke 28 swings down to vertical position by itself, or is pushed down into. such place, holding all "of, the members. I], .24 and '25 as compact, erect, overlying elements, .asshown in Figures 1 and 4, accommodating the child .sitting on any suitable introduced ,pad, and under such circumstances the hood .l5 can be Pushed forwardly so that it does not overhang, the, .ltea'r end of the main body of the carriage, and the foot well is in its lowered position and occupied by the childs feet.

It will be understood, of course, that the "bottom-wall 25 is prevented from rocking down out of place because the yoke 28 by engagement of its cross-rod :31 prevents such an occurrence,

It will be appreciated also that nerther ofthe side-walls 23 are visible from the outside of the vehicle under these conditions.

If, however, the one handling the vehicle desires to usethe extension for the accommodation of purchases, it, can be readily unfdlded and used for that purpose employing'the badkwa'll Fl in place by its straps, as shownv in Figures 2 and 6.

It will thus be seenthat the structure has assentially three positions, via, a strollerpositionhs shown in Figure 4,111 position asshownfin Figure 6 wherein the body back member 17 is,.2'njstroller position but the extensionZO-provides um'aumiliary package carrier, and opositiom. likeithctshowmin Figure 6 except with the back member I?" wardly folded or'horizonta'l whereby tomrovid'e'a cases maximum length in a baby carriage arrangement. The members 17 and are integrally united with the main body bottom 9 whereby to provide a windproof structure at the point of juncture, between these parts at all times, whether the structure is in stroller or baby carriage position. Further, with the rear extension 20 unfolded as shown in Figure 6, with the back member 17 either up or down, the rear wall 24 and side walls '23 of the extension 20 are so united with the main carriage body that .a windproof and safe arrangement of parts is provided so that the baby is afiorded improved protection, and any packages being carried cannot become inadvertently lost. There is no possibility that either the baby or packages can fall out of the structure when going up or down curbs or uneven ground, regardless of how the carriage body may be tilted.

Still further, it will be noted that the line of juncture or operative connection between the extension 20 and the hood is well above the bottom of the body, via, it is at the plane of the top of the body, and no depending appurtenances of the hood are relied upon to form a part of the body or the extension 20. By this means the hood can be shifted to any desired position, to provide any desired sun shading independently of the position of the extension 20, and there are no depending appurtenances on the hood interconnecting with the extension 20 which might become dislodged if relied upon to form a part of the body enclosure, and which in any event form unsightly appurtenances which must be rolled up or tuciced away when not in use. The extension 20 is thus selfcontained, and while cooperating with the hood is structurally independent thereof, the extension itself providing a windproof and safe body part independent of any parts of or appurtenances on the hood 15.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that I have produced such a device as substantially fulfills the objects of the invention presented herein but while such specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the appliance still in practice such deviations from such details may be resorted to without departing from the heart and spirit of the invention as evidenced by the appended claims, or, stated otherwise, various minor changes could be made in various features without sacrificing the heart and essence of the invention as defined by the claims herewith presented:

In some instances the material known to the trade at leatherette, which is a weather-proof material, can be conveniently and suitably used as that referred to as real or artificial leather in constructing the portion of the vehicle constituting the current invention.

I claim:

1. In a convertible baby carriage having a. wheel-chassis, a main body having a base and upstanding side-walls on said chassis, a hood on said main body, a back-rest hinged transversely on said base to rock thereon, and means to hold said back-rest in adjusted positions, the novel combination of a rigid rearward base-extension hinged transversely on said base in substantially longitudinal registration with said base, flexible side-walls in register substantially with the sidewalls of said main body, an upstanding rigid back-wall of said extension hinged transversely on said extension and connecting the rear edges of the side-walls of said extension, means to support said extension in substantial horizontal re ister with the base of "said main body whereby said back rest of said main body may be folded down into said extension, said extension backwall then fol'deddown onto said main body backrest on said extension causing folding of said extension side-walls, said extension and its superposed back and back-rest then folded up to take the former place of said main back-rest, said extension side-walls passing into the main body of the carriage thereby, whereupon the supporting means for said extension may be moved against said extension to hold it in place, the baby carriagc having been thus converted into a stroller. )2. The construction presented in claim 1, in which said back rcst when folded down flat on the base exte'nsionto be occupied by a, part of the child when the child is in full length position, the space provided by the extension and its walls including its r'oclz'able back-rest when in upright position being capable of use for accommodating packages and sundry articles.

3,1The' novel combination set forth in claim 1, in whichsuch means for holding said extension in its .two different positions comprises a U- shaped hinged element and a bar fastened to said extension and projecting beyond the sides of said U-shaped element.

I 4i The novel combination set forth in claim 1, in whichftlie baby carriage has a foot well adjustably mounted at. the front of the carriage to be used as a closure for the front end of the carriage or-in a lower portion for the accommodation of the feet of the occupant when the carriage is in the form of a stroller.

5. The novel combination set forth in claim 1, in which portions of'the base of the main body of the carriage, the base of the extension, and the back wall of the extension are integral.

6. The novel combination set forth in claim 1, in which the side-walls of the main body of the carriage and the side-Walls of the extension are integral.

7. A convertible baby carriage and stroller comprising a wheel-chassis, a main body having a base and upstanding side-walls on said chassis, and an extension arranged to'extend rearwardly from the body, said extension comprising a bottomwall hinged to the rear of the base and arranged to lie substantially in the plane thereof when in lowered position, end and side-walls secured to the margins;of ..the bottom wall and extending upwardly substantially vertically therefrom when the bottom-wall is in a lowered position, said bottom-wall being substantially equal in width to the base of the main body and being pivotal to an upstanding supporting position, means for retaining the bottom-wall in said upstanding position against movement to its lowered position, and a foot well shiftably mounted at the front of the carriage to be used as a closure for the front end thereof or in a lower position for the accommodation of the feet of the occupant when the carriage is in the form of a stroller.

8. A convertible baby carriage and stroller comprising a wheel-chassis, a main body having a base and upstanding side-walls on said chassis, and an extension arranged to extend rearwardly from the body, said extension comprising a bottom-wall hinged to the rear of the base and arranged to lie substantially in the plane thereof when in lowered position, end and side-walls secured to the margins of the bottom-wall and extending upwardly substantially vertically therefrom when the bottom-wall is in a lowered position, said bottom-wall being pivotal to an upstanding supporting position. means selectively operable to retain the bottom-wall in its upstanding position forming a stroller back rest and in its lowered position forminga carriage base e1:- tension selectively as desired, and a foot well shiftably mounted at the front of the carriage to be used as a closure for the front end thereof or in a lower position for the accommodation of the feet of the occupant when the carriage is the form of a stroller.

9. A convertible baby carriage and stroller comprising a wheel-chassis, a' main body having a base and upstanding side-walls on saidchassis, a hood pivotally connected to the body, and an ea:- tension arranged to extend rearwardly from the body, said extension comprising a' bottom-wall hinged to the rear of the base and arranged to lie substantially in the plane thereof when in lowered position, and end and side-walls secured to the margins of the bottom-wall and extending upwardly substantially vertical therefrom when the bottom-wall is in a lowered position, the end and side-walls of the extension when said bottomwall is inlowered position lying respectively in the planes of the end and side walls of thehood when the hood is in one given position, and said bottom, end and side-walls of the extension when said bottom-wall in lowered position forming with the main body an elongated container structure into which a baby or other articles may be placed and securely held.

10. A convertible baby carriage and stroller comprising a wheel-chassis, a main body" having a base and upstanding side-walls on said chassis;

a hood connected to the body, an extension ar- 7 ranged to'eactend rearwardly from the body, said entension comprising a bottom-wall hinged" to the rear of the base and arranged to lie'sabstaniia-lly in the plane thereof when in loweredposition and to close the" rear 7 when in raised position, end and side-walls secured to the margins of the bottom-wall and extending upwardly therefrom when the bottomwall is in a lowered position, the end and sidewalls of the extension when said bottom-wall is in a lowered position forming substantial coninuations of the corresponding hood walls when the hood is positioned over the extension, said bottom, end and side-walls of the extension when said bottom-wall is in lowered position forming with the main body an elongated container structure-into which a baby or other articles may be end of the main body placed and securely held, and closure means for the front end of the main body when used as .a carriage, said closure means being shiftable to open the front end of the carriage and accommodate the occupants depending feet when used as astroller with the bottom-wall of the extension in raised position.

11.. A convertible baby carriage and stroller comprising a wheel-chassis, a main body having a base and upstanding side-walls on said chassis, an extension arranged to extend rearward-1y from the body, said extension comprising a bottom -wall connected to the rear of the base and arranged to-lie substantially on the plane thereof when in lowered position, end and side-walls secured to the margins of the bottom-wall and extending upwardly therefrom when the bottom-wall is in a lowered position, the bottom, end'anid side-walls of the extension when said bottom-wall is in lowered position forming with the main body an elongated container structure into which a baby or other articles may be placed and securely held, and a closure connected to the front end of the main "body for movement between a position closing the same when used as a carriage and a position depending therefrom when used as a stroller to permit the feet of the occupant to also depend from the base.

12. A convertible baby carriage and stroller as claimed in claim 11, wherein the upper margin's'of said extension end and side-walls form a three-sided angular structure terminating substantially in the plane of the upper margins of the upstanding side-walls of the main body, and wherein the closure for the front end of the main body includes a foot rest to accommodate the oceupants depending feet when used as a stroller.

WALTER L. RAUCHER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent or the original patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date "1,807,235 Brown May 26, '1931 2,0553% Berry Sept. 29, 1936 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 244,356 Great'Britain Dec. 17, 1-925 

